


Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

by ErisVanHelsing



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Both for Hannibal and Dragon Age, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Fantasy Setting, Multi, Please Keep That In Mind, Post-Dragon Age: Origins, Post-Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-01-22 07:36:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12476584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisVanHelsing/pseuds/ErisVanHelsing
Summary: When Warden Commander of Ferelden Jack Crawford and his fabled party, Constable-Warden Beverly Katz and Wardens Brian Zeller and James of House Price, hear of a few missing girls from the farms around Red Crossing, at first they are bored. Girls leave farms for the big cities all the time. Then, the number grew worrisome. Finally, they were desperate enough to hunt down a rumor. The rumor was a young apostate Chasind Wilder who left his tribe and managed to roam around the Frostbacks and was travelling Orlais via the Imperial Highway.A mystery to solve and a visiting noble may make or break our young friend, who is not all that he appears.Rewrite of the entirety of Hannibal and beyond using the Dragon Age setting (while reworking some of the Hannibal plot to also fit the setting and add a couple of surprises).Writer is attempting to make this as friendly as possible to non-Dragon Age fans who still love Hannibal.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I have been trying to write Jamais Vu, I swear. However, my love for Dragon Age as taken over and it wouldn't shut up until I wrote this. I will get back on track, but I needed to at least get the prologue out of my system.
> 
> Essentially, I am going to try and rewrite Hannibal to fit a Dragon Age setting. It won't be exactly. I'll have a lot of altered and new scenes in it to account for things that won't fit anywhere else, but are important to the setting. I will also change a few things. I won't say what.
> 
> The setting is after Dragon Age: Awakening and will probably refer back to it and Origins. I tried to do very very quick references to them in the prologue. I will also try and explain what is going on the Dragon Age front to anyone reading this that has no knowledge of it. When I first post this prologue, there won't be anything. Tomorrow, I will post an updated note section at the end with quick blurbs to explain words, events, cultures (probably in only a couple of sentences sorry), etc. I am a huge lore buff for Dragon Age, so this will be no trouble on my part. The only ones who will suffer are those trying to move to the comment or new chapters sections and Ao3's character count.
> 
> I am looking for a beta, so pretty please....
> 
> Please comment! If you have criticism, please make it constructive. I am always looking to improve and "you suck" does little in regards to that.
> 
> EDIT: Still looking for a beta, but I decided to rewrite the entire first chapter and change the setting up a bit. Instead of doing quick blurbs I will be going into more detailed explanations at the beginning (but they will be common knowledge stuff only so I can keep "Dragon Age" secrets hidden for my own use from non-Dragon Age fans reading. Mostly of my blurbs will start in chapter one as the prologue as a few self-explained. Please note to anyone involved that this is a DARK FANTASY SETTING. The rules and lore of the setting itself can be upsetting at times and if I think of anything I will be putting it down in the tags and warnings. I am going to be making this into a series and anticipate 4, maybe 5 installments.
> 
> I'm sorry for anybody reading this and waiting for my other two stories. I am trying to complete rewrite Unexpected Surprises from Unexpected Places, because I went back and hated the way it looked (this will be the second time I've done this). Jamais Vu is on a halt because I keep going back, adding one or two lines, editing the chapter over completely, and then blanking on what else to say. I have an outline planned, but am stuck on an encounter that I know what I want the outcome to be, but am lost on the way.
> 
> On the plus side, some friends and myself are working on a long collaborative D&D campaign/story that I will be writing up here called Paladin Party (title in progress). It will be the three of us with six characters (two each) writing enemies and pain (for each other) and rolling dice to see where the story goes. It's exciting.

The Chantry teaches us that it was in the hearts of men that the Blight was created. The magisters of Tevinter sought to usurp heaven and take the Seat of the Maker for themselves and, in attempting to do so, destroyed it instead. With one step into the Golden City, it darkened and turned black. Tainted, the mages were cast out and became the darkspawn, nightmarish creatures that pillage and burn and blight the land where they step. The Old Gods that the magisters worshipped would call to them and when their servants arrived they would taint the Old Gods and turn them into Archdemons. The Archdemons would lead the horde to the surface and begin Blights. 

In the year 9:30 Dragon, the fifth of these Blights began in the Korcari Wilds, south of the country of Ferelden, a nation known for its resilience and love of dogs. The King’s Army marched out along with the Grey Wardens, an order of elite warriors meant to combat the Blights. The force was betrayed by the King’s father-in-law Loghain and they were left to die, but among the ashes of the battlefield arose a hero. The Hero of Ferelden tore through the countryside like only a madwoman could. Elissa Cousland inspired those that she touched. She saved the Circle of Magi, chose the King of Orzammar (the great city of the dwarves), brokered peace between the elves and the werewolves, and restored the Theirin line to the throne. When the Archdemon attacked Denerim, the capital of Ferelden, she was ready. She and her many newfound allies saved the city and worked to protect as many civilians as possible. However, victory at Denerim would come with a price. Elissa Cousland, as a Grey Warden should, sacrificed her life to fell the great foe.

The neighboring nation of Orlais was experiencing a very different sort of balance. Orlais is a nation of ostentation and audacity. It is a land where the poor toil under the watchful gazes of the nobles while the lords and ladies participate in the Great Game, a pastime of politics, death, and intrigue played by all of rich, whether they like it or not. Despite this, Orlais is a deeply religious land, as it is the seat of the Divine (the leader of the Chantry faith) and the capital city of Val Royeaux has the largest Chantry in Thedas, the Grand Cathedral. In the year 9:20, the sixteen-year-old Celene Valmont I consolidated her power and took the Orlesian Empire after the untimely death of her Uncle Florian. Many of the ruling faction of Orlais attempted to overthrow her time and time again, thinking her too soft, but were met with the wits of player unlike any other. Orlais had previously ruled over Ferelden before being unceremoniously defeated. One of Celene’s first acts as Empress was to extend an olive branch, and the two countries made peace. The Grey Wardens of Orlais attempted to go to Ferelden’s aid, upon hearing of the Blight, but were turned away and even killed.

It is shortly after the fifth Blight that we begin our tale. Ferelden has begun rebuilding. To increase Grey Warden presence in Ferelden with its greatest warrior felled, a call went out and Orlais answered. There, one of the most prestigious of their ranks agreed to come to Ferelden and become the temporary Warden Commander - the leader of the Wardens in that particular country. The Warden chosen was a man known for his quick wits and stubbornness to outlast a druffalo. Jack Crawford, known among the Grey as “the Augur” (if only because there are not any Avvar Wardens that anyone is aware of), was a half-human, half-Qunari man, which added much to his intimidation as he has a foot on even his tallest comrades. His skin was just grey enough that you can tell he wasn’t all human, if the fact that he had two sizable ram horns didn’t first. It was rumored that he did once use his horns to pin a man before gutting his quarry with his greatsword.

When he left the Orlesian Wardens for Ferelden, he was worried that he would not find any fit for the job, but it wasn’t long before he rebuilt the entire order and was able to return. When he did so, he brought back an accomplished band of the new Wardens’ finest to permanently who swore to follow him always.

His new second-in-command was Beverly Katz, a beautiful she-elf from Denerim’s Alienage. She grew up learning to pick pockets and read the lies on people’s faces to live. One day she was caught daring to steal from a particularly racist human, but was quickly conscripted by Jack Crawford to spare her a thief’s punishment. He saw talent and rightly so. Her archery skills were unrivaled by even senior members of the order and her eyes were sharper than dragon scales. A quick mind and a quick draw would push her up far in the ranks of the Wardens and is what landed her new station as Crawford’s lieutenant. Some in Amaranthine made claims of favoritism, as she was the first of his recruits. When Ser Katz heard these claims, she bought everyone a pint (even that one nasty lout, Krendler) and took care of the issue later. This gift for soothing crowds in just the right way managed to get the group out of many a scrap and persuaded some people to believe some ridiculous tall tales.

Of course, there was Brian Zeller. Slightly bland, as he was the only human in the group. Zeller was the product of a dalliance between a Chevalier and a Bard posing as a Sister. A victim of circumstance, as once he was born neither parent wanted him. He was sent to the Chantry with designs of being a priest. He quickly found that being a priest bored him and would spend forever among the healers and alchemists. Zeller found he had an aptitude for potions and anatomy and pursued the craft with a single mind. This eventually came into conflict with the Mother, as she had hoped to make the boy into a Templar. Brian rejected the notion and left as quickly as possibly for Ferelden, where the Chantry had less political power. He hopped for years around the countryside, working with every amateur potion-maker, healer, alchemist, and yes, mage, until he felt confident in the craft. He was rescued by Jack Crawford when he found himself stuck in the Blackmarsh, trapped in a city stuck in the land of spirits. Recruitment went smoothly from there.

Finally, the last member was James of the Legion of the Dead, formerly of House Price. James was the most recent convert of the three. The group met following rumors of Darkspawn activities in a gorge near a small farming village. They met James, who was fending off the last of the darkspawn over the bodies of his dead squadron. They helped him defeat the ‘spawn and offered him a chance to join the Grey Wardens; their reasoning being that he was already committed to fighting darkspawn, might as well fight more and he found no sufficient argument for the matter. Being a Legionnaire meant that he did not have any ties left to home, so he readily jumped at the call. It was odd for him at first, to be so close to the sky, but he adapted quickly. James, being from an order that considers themselves already dead, became quickly known for his gallows humor and his penchant for knowing absolutely random bits of knowledge, which he attributed to hocking good books off of bodies as one has nothing better to do in between killing darkspawn.

Yes, they were a merry band. After a very long and boring adventure involving talking darkspawn, broodmothers, spirits of justice, and flaming trees, after bureaucracy and building, they were ready to rest. Of course, that was when the call came from Orlais that the Order in Ferelden was sufficiently established, and that Jack Crawford needed to return. Of course, along the way the group heard of disappearing from their families’ farms around in Red Crossing (a city in southern Orlais). Young maidens would disappear once they went off on their own and were not heard from again. No bodies had been found. It took five girls for the nobles to agree that something was happening and call for aid. The sixth girl brought on a fervor and many villagers (and nobles) accused the nearest Dalish (roaming clans of elves who reject human society) for the abduction of their daughters. The seventh brought anxiety and the Chevaliers, believing magic to be involved, called upon the Templars (mage-hunters). The eighth brought desperation and the Grey Wardens were asked for.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The woman was laid out on the floor near the window. The scrapes and bruises and tears of clothing suggested that she had tried to crawl out of it as the perpetrator broke in. It had taken her much longer to die.  
> Will ushered the guards out and closed the little shack on the outskirts of Velun. He reached out and felt the weakness in the Veil that would allow him to push through into the Fade…. It would only take a little push.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the beginning proper. I am adding the Codex here and will be adding the future author's notes to the bottom.
> 
> The Codex:  
> Abomination: Someone who is possessed by a demon, usually a mage.  
> Demons and Spirits: The denizens of the Fade. Like the Fade, they reflect the world around them and even are affected by the expectations people have of them. Demons embody sins and the like with less powerful ones being of Hunger, Fear, Rage, and Despair and more powerful ones being Envy, Desire, and Pride. Spirits embody virtues such as Command, Love, Justice, Wisdom, and Purpose. It is important to understand that the nature of Fade beings are impermanent and their natures are affected by the world around them. It is all too easy for Purpose to become Desire, Justice to become Rage/Vengeance, and Wisdom to become Pride. There are hints that it is possible for the reverse transition as well, such as Despair becoming Endurance or Compassion or Fear becoming Courage (it is just very unlikely). Many people cannot distinguish (or do not distinguish) between spirits and demons.  
> Mabari Hounds: War dogs in Ferelden that were breed with magic specifically to be smarter (more cunning) than the average dog. It is said that a Mabari is smart enough to speak and wise enough not to. They bound with a single master and are devoted to them for life. They are revered in Ferelden for their loyalty, which goes back to the legend that the Mabari turned on their original breeders (Tevinter mages) and sided with the Fereldens (who were being oppressed by said mages) and have been loyal to Ferelden since. The love Ferelden has for these hounds is reflected by their iconography and the slur for a Ferelden being “Dog Lord”.  
> Mage: A person born with magic capabilities and, as a result, are connected to the fade more intimately than most. All humanoids excepting dwarves can be mages, but only mages and Fade beings can wield magic. Their connection to the fade makes them vulnerable to the denizens residing there.  
> Magic: At its simplest, is the manipulation of the essence of the Fade to affect the world around the wielder. Some magic exists naturally or can be affected by non-mages, but it cannot be wielded (Magic is a really broad topic that will be broached one chapter at a time.).  
> Templar: In the simplest form, mage-hunters. The guard the mages in the towers, both from others and themselves and protect others from them as well, and hunt down run-aways or those who refuse to join a Circle (known as Apostates).  
> The Circle: A Chantry-run institution meant for mages. As soon as a mage’s powers are learned, they are brought to a Circle to be taught to control their powers and to be removed from the normal population. Many stay there their entire lives, although some can leave with permission and a Templar guard.  
> The Fade: The realm of spirits, demons, and dreams. The fade is the realm where all go when they sleep (but only mages are aware there). It is shaped by the mortal realm and shapes the mortal realm in turn through thin areas in the veil and mages.  
> The Veil: The separation between the Fade and the Moral realm.

The guards of the small town of Velun gave him a wide berth as they searched to one room home of the Marlow family… not that he blamed them. Most normal people feared strangers, let alone one wearing “barbaric” clothing and wielding a staff that clearly marked him as a mage. Also, he had six Mabari hounds with him snuffling about. Yes, Will was very lucky that this village didn’t run him out with torches and pitchforks as soon as he was in sight. Once he explained that he had heard from Val Fermin about the recent murder and was “sent” to help, they felt more comfortable around him. Granted, he wasn’t exactly lying. 

The poor couple was spread across the floor of their home; the man was spread across the threshold, blood crusted and dried across his neck with a bolt lodged in the vocal cords and another in the jugular. The spray of blood spread on the wall suggested that the vocal cords came first and the jugular was targeted as the man staggered back. 

The woman was laid out on the floor near the window. The scrapes and bruises and tears of clothing suggested that she had tried to crawl out of it as the perpetrator broke in. It had taken her much longer to die.

Will ushered the guards out and closed the little shack on the outskirts of Velun. He reached out and felt the weakness in the Veil that would allow him to push through into the Fade…. It would only take a little push.

Suddenly, he was hovering in the woods outside to the back of the home. A quick check of the perimeter and his body moved without his permission and dashed around to the front door. A swift kick brought down the fragile door and the loaded crossbow that had been in his hand (though he only now noticed it) was pulled upward into a firing position and launched at the startled man. The man staggered back towards their two-person cot and his female companion screamed and dashed towards the side (the hearth and cooking area), but that prey could wait until later. A reload of his crossbow, impossibly fast in his practiced hands, and then it fired again. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

His body dragged itself to the left with increasing urgency as the female climbed on the table to push her self out the window. He reloaded as he got closer, but not before dipping the new bolt in a paralytic. She was half-way out when he released the bolt and it sliced through her femoral artery. His prey tried to yell, but the air in her lungs was knocked out as her sternum hit the window ledge. He dragged her back in kicking.  
Will came back to himself with a blink and was looking straight in the chest of a rather large man. A quick glance up showed that the man was large due to muscle and the general broadness of his stature. He wore sturdy dragon bone plate mail bearing the blue and white two-griffon crest of the Grey Wardens, but no helmet as any would have gotten in the way of the ram horns extending back from his forehead. His skin was an ashy bronze and he had dark eyes that held a gleam of interest. 

Fuck. Someone got the authorities. Will quickly glanced around for the exits, trying and failing to not look nervous, but was interrupted when the broad Qunari began laughing.

“I apologize if I made you nervous young Ser, but worry not. I am no Templar and see no reason here to behave as such. Unless, of course, you think you are a danger to these people.”

Will swallowed nervously. Of course, he was dangerous; he’s a mage. Demons visit him in the night and whisper in his ears; he can sprout fire from his fingertips. He shakes his head no.

“Good,” the man replies to Will, only half paying attention. “Well, Ser. My name is Jack Crawford, recently appointed Warden-Commander of Orlais (previously of Ferelden). I realize this is a bit sudden, but I’ve been tracking you for a couple of weeks. I’ve heard you’re good at what you do, and that what you do has allowed small villages like this one to have justice for their community. Some have even gone as far to say that you are favored by the Maker.”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Will sharply replies. “I simply read the area and have a good imagination.” And communicate with spirits, but guards are still in the room and I would like to not be called an abomination today.

“Can I borrow your imagination?”  
***  
As it turns out, Jack Crawford was… okay. He managed to grab some guards and relay the information that Will spout out, before dragging the young mage off. Thankfully, none of the guards bothered to try and detain him; having a giant horned man between the guards and himself seemed to come in handy. The Warden Commander also had horses and a cart, which Will made sure that his six Mabari got into. Apparently, Jack had heard about them and came prepared. After Will and his pack got into the front, the group took off. It was only then that Jack explained his motives for being there.

“Red Crossing? We’re going all the way to Red Crossing?”

“There are people disappearing there! Someone needs to go in a stop it. Eight young girls are missing and, if it isn’t stopped soon, eight more will go too.”

Will sighed. He knew that Jack Crawford was right about that at least. Unless some upstart managed to stumble across whoever was taking these girls or their bodies, it would be some time before someone caught them. “When did you learn about the eighth?”

“I got the message as I was crossing the Frostback Mountains. It wasn’t too long before we found our way to the village.”

“And nothing was found?”

“Nothing at all. No bodies, evidence of demons or blood magic, weapons, nothing. We’ve searched the woods around the village, the local inn, the market, and the shared fields.”  
“I don’t think those girls were taken from where you think they were taken from.”

“Then where?”

“Someplace else.” Buster whined in the back and Will turned to soothe him. He never did like being cooped up where he couldn’t run free. Will could relate.  
***  
Traveling through the Exalted Plains to the edge of the Dales was about as bad as one could expect. The war that had been over seven ages ago had burnt the beautiful forests to the ground, leaving rolling hills of dead grass and waspy lone trees. The red claw of the earth peeked out at travelers, but, even then, there was just enough green in the trees and ground that one could believe that the land was beginning to heal. 

“I’ve only seen land look like this after it experienced a minor Blight,” Jack Crawford said. 

“It’s sad that so much of our history is full of fighting each other to the point that the land suffers,” Will replied, almost hushed. The air was so still with neither wind nor birds disturbing the quiet, making it feel like even a whisper might alert something sinister. Jack eyed him from his seat next to him. “Says the Chasind Wilder.” Will snorted.

“You believe the legends then I take it. No, Chasind are not madmen who kill for sport and eat their dead. Not anymore at least,” he muttered at his companion.

“Not anymore?” Jack quipped.

“Once upon a time perhaps, but so did most cultures, if one pays attention to history.”

“Fair, but as far as I know the Chasind are the only ones in the contemporary era that are said to do so.” Will shrugged and adjusted his simple leathers. It was more to do something than it was to get warmer.

“I’ve been to the Korcari Wilds actually,” Jack said to break the silence.

“Oh?”

“Well,” he said sheepishly, “I was only crossing through and, while I hate saying this, once you’ve seen part of the swamp, you’ve seen it all.”

Will made a non-committal noise. A crow swooped by heading the other direction. A small village appeared on the horizon. The closer the cart got, the more haphazard Red Crossing appeared. The village was spread out across with landscape and the homes were a good distance away from each other. Most homes had small gardens to grow family crops and there were larger farms that grew the crops that would go exclusively to the nobility. Behind the village was the start of the tree line of the Emerald Graves, the single tall trees impossibly tall against the rest of the dying plain before eventually joining the hoard of the forest.

Jack pulled up to the village’s small set of stables and gave a large sum of silver to the Horse-master. The two set off through the village and were meant with much staring. A half-Qunari Grey Warden in full plate mail in the traditional blue and white stripes and a human in ratty leathers with six Mabari and a staff marking him as a mage were bound to get some. Small villages in Orlais were not very friendly to mages (let alone apostates), so Will stayed as close as possible to Jack.  
***  
Elise Nichols was the most recent victim, so Jack took her there. The girl was apparently being apprenticed to a local tailor but would often wander around the edge of the nearby green. A sweet girl who was extremely independent, as most village girls on the plain tended to be. Her parents had gone to the bigger Velun to see family (the Madame Nichols’ family was from Red Crossing and they initially moved there to help them). Their daughter had offered to come back and watch their home while they were gone for the week after getting permission from her mentor.

She wasn’t there when they got home.

Will wandered through the small home; this family was much better off than the Marlows. Their cabin had several rooms and easy access to a community outhouse in this part of town. Small trinkets log walls and the cooking area also had a small entertainment area attached. The family had a separate room devoted for sleep and another for bathing. Herbs and rabbits hung from the ceiling and the small garden in the back was well kept and there was an empty bowl that sat in the corner along with another filled with water. Currently, Monsieur Nichols was sitting in a lightly cushioned chair, hands buried in the blonde-grey hair. Madame sat in the chair next to him and rubbed his hand. “She looks the other girls?”

Jack nodded gravely. He had opted to stand up to give them the news and Will stood with him, even though it made him feel like he was trying to intimidate the poor couple. A small tabby cat appeared in the corner of his vision. It wandered around towards the other rooms. Will followed.

“What are you doing?” Elise’s mother asked.

“How’s the cat?”

“What?” Monsieur Nichols asked. 

“The cat?” Will repeated, slightly annoyed that they did not understand his meaning. “You were gone for a week, it must’ve been hungry being here all alone.”

“Honestly, we didn’t notice,” Madame replied, looking confused, but sadly curious. Will watched as the cat went over to the back bedroom and followed. 

Tap. Tap. His footsteps echoed quietly on the wooden floor and he quietly opened the door that the cat was pawing at. The Nichols gasped behind him as they saw their daughter lying peacefully on the bed. “Elise?” Will heard as he noticed the girl’s pallor and he turned around immediately to push the parents. “You need to leave,” he growled at them and Jack came up to usher the couple away, but a wail resounded from them. They saw her.

"Katz! Zeller! Price! Get in here!" Jack yelled as he pulled the two away. Before Will could even move, three blurs rushed inside and pushed him out to investigate. The door slammed in his face. A few minutes went by where he could only hear murmuring and movement from inside the room and crying from outside of the home. The noise drowned out his surroundings; Will could only focus on the growing volume. Eventually Jack ran back inside and pushed the three out. Will was ushered in the room to investigate Elise. He hesitated to touch her; her porcelain skin might break. Four red blots stained the white nightgown, too fine for this family (no matter how well off they were). He pulled the blanket up slightly; now she was simply asleep.

The Warden Commander walked in behind him and almost placed a hand on his shoulders before pulling back. “I’ve got them holed up outside of the house. They weren’t happy, but I gave them a couple of gold pieces and told them to head to the inn. The rest of the party is waiting outside as well. We'll be giving you time.” Will nodded absently, still staring at the still girl in front of him. Jack nodded and began to walk away. He glanced back at the mage. “Will? I’m leaving the room now; I’ll make sure that nobody interrupts you. Come out and get me if you’re ready to talk; if you don’t feel like it, you don’t talk.” Will made a noise of acknowledgement and he left the room.

Silence fell, only interrupted by the inhale and exhale of his lungs. He closed his eyes and it took him.


End file.
